[Tips] How to Kickstart Your Digital Marketing Career in Southeast Asia

The digital advertising and marketing industries are rapidly changing today. As most people now consume information via the Internet, companies are forced to utilize digital channels to engage them, instead of relying on only traditional media such as newspaper, radio, and TV. The pie of digital media budgets is growing and has led to an increase of demand for digital media professionals.

However, an ecommerceiq.asia report pointed out that digital marketing companies are now facing challenges in looking for quality talents with the right skill sets. This is due to the lack of fundamental skills such as data analysis, technical skills, and strategic thinking – all of which are growing in demand.

What are the Hottest Digital Marketing Jobs in the Market?

In order to succeed in this ever-changing digital marketing industry, you require both creativity and a strong statistical base to have a holistic understanding of the practice. Here are some of the most lucrative career paths that you can explore:

1. Social Marketing Specialist

The large growth of social network users, especially in Southeast Asia, has required the increase of employees to manage the companies’ social media platforms. The job requirements are determined based on the social media presence of a brand, nature of content to be developed, campaign management, and ability to drive traffic to the company website. This role also plays a critical part in sustaining an engaging user experience and satisfaction.

2. Digital Marketing Analyst

Digital analyst, or digital marketing analyst, is a relatively trendy career in the digital marketing field. Digital marketing analysis refers to the research of the market trend to source for the best possible strategy that suits the company. The role incorporates performing analysis across multiple data platforms to support the development and creation of data-driven insights to support better decision making. It also includes keeping track of the company’s digital footprint and maintaining a strong online presence for a better impression.

3. Mobile Marketing Specialist

Mobile development is a huge thing in many markets. The shift of internet users from other devices to smart phones has given many challenges and opportunities for digital marketeers. The mobile phone users currently comprise the biggest proportion of internet users’ in terms of time spent. The role primarily requires the understanding of insights and information of mobile internet user – to create, develop and improve marketing strategies and execution on the mobile platform.

4. Content Marketeer

Digital marketing copywriters, or content marketeers, focus on writing and producing content that is engaging and captivating to drive customer experience and encourage meaningful actions (such as visiting your website or making a purchase). It also includes the ability to interpret the creative direction and present underlying strategic thinking behind them. Ultimately, the process of developing and managing content requires not only creativity and imagination, but also to be in line with the current trends and interests of the primary audience.

5. Digital Marketing Project Manager

Digital project managers are responsible of managing the end-to-end marketing campaigning contracts. This includes everything from designing the campaign framework and determining the digital platforms to managing the ad budgets and closing the deal after the success of the campaign. In summary, it is an all-rounder job and requires great knowledge across the various areas of digital marketing.

How Should I Prepare for a Career in Digital Marketing?

For young people, these digital marketing professional roles may be of interest to you. However, if you unsure about how to get started and prepare for a career, you can refer to the tips below:

Review your passion, strengths and career aspirations: The digital marketing covers a wide area of capabilities. If you are analytical and great with mathematics, then data analysis may be ideal for you. On the other hand, if you are naturally creative and good at content writing, then you could consider a career in content marketing. Remember that choosing your career should lie on the intersections between your interest, expertise, and future trends.

Enhance your digital marketing skillsets: As soon as you determine which area of digital marketing you’re most passionate, work hard to improve the essential skills. With the rising complexity and market size of digital marketing, laying out the proper foundations and sharpening your skills would be the first thing to do. To get you started, you can take a look at some of the digital marketing online courses provided by Coursera, Google Digital Garage or Facebook Blueprint.

Build your online portfolio: One of the easiest way to build your credibility as a fresh graduate is to create an online profile to demonstrate your digital marketing capabilities to recruiters. There are many ways to do this – you can consider starting a blog, enhancing your social profiles, or even managing an online platform to share your knowledge.

Participate in a digital marketing internship: This is the best way to jump straight into deep waters and be in an environment where you can apply all your knowledge and skillsets that you’ve acquired from your university or courses. It’s also a good platform to be updated with the current trends and gain relevant work experience.

Trinh is currently working as a Publisher Engagement Executive for AdAsia Holdings Pte. Ltd, currently based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. During the time of studying at University of Economics, she actively participated in various start-up programs, namely Danang Startup Runway and Startup Weekend. She has had many international experience representing her country in ASEAN conferences, such as AYIEP 2016, the ASEAN Foundation and Entrepreneurship Training in Ireland. Her interests are related to youth development, innovation, marketing and tech-advertising. She can be reached at thaitientrinh@gmail.com.